


mother tongue

by KawaiiKozume



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Ace!Jason Grace, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Break Up, Brief Internalized Aphobia, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Guilt, M/M, Multi, Past Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Past Relationship(s), Polyamory, Post-Canon, Trans Male Character, Trans!Frank Zhang, past Leo Valdez/Calypso - Freeform, relationship troubles, to update tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:42:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27606436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KawaiiKozume/pseuds/KawaiiKozume
Summary: moth·er tongue/ˈˌməT͟Hər ˈtəNG/nounthe language which a person has grown up speaking from early childhood.As the dust settles from the most recent world shattering event, those who were aboard the Argo II find their lives settling into what normalcy is supposed to be. The strange thing is, normalcy for them involves a lot of relationship issues. Born of stress or fear, some relationships aren't meant to last. Others withstand the trials of change. In the end, all that matters is having an understanding of love.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Nico di Angelo/Leo Valdez, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace/Leo Valdez, Will Solace/Leo Valdez
Comments: 18
Kudos: 33





	1. i didn't see it coming

**Author's Note:**

> I have absolutely no buffer chapters, I'm sorry. I'm juggling four multi-chaptered fics for four different fandoms right now so this may not be updated for a hot second but it will be. I love this too much to not finish it.

The scent of baked strawberries filled the air and Nico’s nose wrinkled in an attempt to block it out. Or maybe it was more out of habit born from anxiety. Either way, he was currently leading his boyfriend through the fields of strawberries hoping to get to the forest that borders their home. Nico nearly laughs when he realizes he thought of camp as home. He’d come a long way since hiding in a labyrinth at the age of 10 with only Minos to accompany him.

“Angel, where are you taking me?” The lightheartedness in Nico’s heart dissipated at the nickname. He wasn’t trying to lead Will on, really, he just wasn’t sure how to talk about his feelings until today. Hence why he was dragging Will away to what he considered the most secluded place of camp.

Nico didn’t reply and continued dragging Will by his wrist until they were a good distance from the fields. Then, he dropped Will’s hand and turned.

“We need to talk.” Nico watched Will’s face change from amused to serious in the span of seconds. Nico’s stomach started tumbling and turning on itself as he took a breath.

“I want you to know that what I’m going to say isn’t sparked by anything you did, I truly think it was a product of what was happening. Kind of like what happens after wars, um,” Nico stumbled, trying to avoid the images of the last five years forcing their way into the forefront of his head. “In any case, I think-”

“Neeks, wait, is this what I think it is?” Will cut him off and watched him with pinched eyebrows and concerned blue eyes, the same eyes Nico looked for every morning.

“I think we should break up.” Nico spills out and tries to hold Will’s eyes until it becomes too much and he looks off into the woods behind him. It was a good thing Nico didn’t eat much at breakfast because even with a nearly empty stomach, he felt like he was going to be sick at any moment. The words hung in the air between the two and Nico felt like his skin was starting to crawl.

“I- Well,-” Will tries a couple times to say something but each time he stops. “Has- Have you thought about this a while?”

Nico looks back up at him and wishes he didn’t. Will’s eyes were watering with unshed tears and Nico felt worse about what he was going to say.

“Kind of.” He mumbled. “It’s just-complicated.”

“Why?” Will asked, voice cracking. “I thought we were steady. We’ve been through a year and the Triumvirate and- Why?”

Nico chewed on his bottom lip while he searched for the right words to explain it.

“I-You know how after wars, people tend to rush through relationships? Soldiers come back and get married and start domestic lives and it’s all great at first but then, it hits them that maybe they didn’t want that life? Maybe they were afraid that they were going to lose what they had so they rushed to make sure they could keep and protect it? That’s the best way I can explain it. I don’t have any experience in the world except you, and that’s not terrible, that’s not a bad thing, it’s just, I’d rather,” Nico bites his lip and makes a face, “I’d rather gain some...world experience…and I think we rushed into  _ this _ .”

Will’s mouth was parted and he looked at Nico with a small amount of shock. Nico had decided before initiating this moment he was going to give Will all the explanation he could. It was only fair, after all.

“So, you just want time to, what, go out with other people?” Will asked, trying to understand what Nico was saying.

“I mean, sure, but also to not, damnit, I- I’m not sure how to explain this.” Nico took a breath. “I guess it’s like not being tied down?”

Will nodded as Nico spoke. He brought a hand to wipe his eyes and took a breath.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay. If you want to break up, then okay. It’d be pointless to try and make something work where one person doesn’t  _ want _ it to work. So, okay. Go ahead, date other people, tour the world, don’t let me tie you down.” Will said, trying really hard not to let any negative emotion fill his words. Nico could tell though, he could always tell.

“I’m so-”

“Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.” Will cut him off and looked at the ground. “If it's possible, I’d like to try and stay friends, but I’m going to need some time.”

“Yeah, I understand. I’ll...be here when you’re ready.” Nico said and then watched as his, now ex, boyfriend walked back to main camp leaving Nico to wrestle over his feelings once more. Breaking up with Will was the only thing that made sense in Nico’s mind, so why did he still feel like something was writhing around in his chest? Maybe talking to Hazel would help.

****

“Praetors, I know your schedules are quite full at the moment, but if you could spare a moment to hear our case.” The voice came to the couple bent over maps and Hazel stood straight, turning to the newcomer. It was an older man with dark eyes and a balding head.

“I’m sorry but we really are bu-”

“I’ll hear you out and fill in Praetor Levesque later.” Frank placed a hand on Hazel’s arm and squeezed. Hazel’s eyes softened as Frank smiled at her.

“I’ll be right back, promise.” Frank led the man out of the principia and onto the grass outside. Hazel turned back to the maps laid in front of her. According to Lavinia's report, the southeast corner of New Rome should be fully reconstructed in the next week. Leila had swung by yesterday to drop off designs for more temple updates. Those were a constantly running project at the moment and combined with picking up Camp Jupiter after the Triumvirate a year ago, Hazel and Frank were finally catching up. After southeast New Rome is completed, the last thing to do is finish Jason’s plans. Hazel let out a sigh. She’d hoped that it wouldn’t have taken this long to finish repairs but apparently the old saying was right: Rome wasn't built in a day.

“Hey, breathe.” Frank’s hand found its way to rest on Hazel’s waist drawing her out of the thoughts building into a full overwhelming panic. She took a breath and turned to him with a smile.

“Welcome back.” Frank pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Good to be back. So that was Calvin, he lives in the northwest section of New Rome and he wanted to report that there’s an issue with the water. He says it tastes like metal.”

Hazel frowned. They’d just finished the new system a week ago. If there were already problems then they’d need to revisit the design. Not to mention providing a way for citizens to filter their water on their own until the issue gets resolved.

“I’ll talk to Hank and see what he has to say. For now, let’s just make a priority to get filters to sector 5.” Frank pulled away and marked the area that the system fed.

“We’re losing our date night, aren’t we?” Hazel said, already knowing the answer. Frank gave her a look of sympathy. For some reason though, she had a feeling he wasn’t actually upset by this fact.

“I’m sorry, love. It’ll even out after the rebuild.” That was what he had been telling her for a year. He wasn’t wrong, but it’d be easier if he didn’t respond to senators and legionnaires calling for not-really-but-named-emergency meetings.

“Yeah, after the rebuild.” Hazel frowned at the temple designs before her and not for the first time, wondered if Frank was pulling away from her.

After dinner that night, Hazel found herself traipsing through New Rome alone as Frank led the meeting regarding building supplies for the new temples. The roads were dim as the northwest was known more for family groups and the majority of these groups would be heading for bed soon. Hazel found the pump system and turned a valve, cutting off the entrance line. She checked the gauges but it was of no use to her. She couldn’t understand what she was seeing so she left it be and started her walk back to camp. As she got closer to the main road, she could see couples moving through shops and buildings. Seeing them reminded her of Frank and the growing drift between them. As she walked along the brick street, she thought about when it started and she realized it had been a few weeks. She decided, as she slid into her bed, that she should talk to Frank about it. If anything, his response could tell her whether she needs to worry or not. She wondered if Annabeth could help her.

***

Percy’s jaw was clenched and he knew he needed to relax it or he’d regret it later. He currently bent over a textbook at a little cafe in New Rome and as he reread the same paragraph for a fourth time, it still didn’t sink in. He cursed, pushed back and shut the book without marking the page. He may be able to kill giants on a battlefield but that means next to shit when he’s got an exam in his history course in two days.

“Relax your jaw. I could hear your teeth grinding from the cart.” Annabeth set a coffee cup in front of him and Percy shot her a flat look. He did as she told him though and opened his mouth in a yawn.

“That bad, huh?” She asked and Percy nodded.

“Four times.” He took a sip of his drink. “I read the same paragraph  _ four times _ and I still don’t know what it said.”

“Terrible.” Annabeth teased. Percy gave her a lopsided smile.

“Truly the worst.” He leaned forward over the table. “Hey, uh, wanted to ask if it’s alright with you, Ricky invited me to hang out with him and his friends tonight.”

Annabeth got quiet and looked over Percy once. Her eyes took on the kind of calculating look Percy once feared.

“Yeah, I guess so. What are you guys going to do?” She asked, tone light but Percy had a feeling there was something underneath it.

“He just mentioned going out to Oakland.” Percy waited for the inevitable question and bit back a sigh.

“Just gonna wander Oakland?”

“I dunno, Wise Girl. I just figured it’d be nice to try and get to know my roommate.”

“Could I come?” And there it was. Percy loves Annabeth. That’s a fact of the universe, as constant as the ocean waves and Artemis raising the moon every night. He’s been through hell with her and he’d never have it differently because it made them who they are now.

However, lately, he’s been noticing small things. Small, suffocating things that leave him more wound up than not. He’s not sure what the deal is, why suddenly in his mind Annabeth changed from a security measure, something he could crawl to for support, into a cage of thorns.

“I’d have to ask Ricky, but I wouldn’t mind.” Percy lied.

“Okay, let me know.” And just like that the conversation moved on with Annabeth playing with Percy’s hand.

+++

“Hey, what’d Ricky say?” Annabeth and Percy were laying in Percy’s bed after his English class. He’d absolutely not asked Ricky about her tagging along.

“He said he intended it to be a guys’ night. But maybe next time?” He offered. She got real quiet next to him.

“Are you tired of me?” She sounded so small and Percy’s heart clenched.

“Of course not.” Percy looked down at her. “Why would you think that?”

“Lately it just seems like we’re not always on the same page or we’re doing different things and I’m afraid that, I don’t know, maybe you were getting bored. We’re each other’s first partners anyways, it wouldn’t be unheard of.” She moved to lay across his chest and stare up at him.

“Annabeth, if something were up, I’d absolutely tell you. You’d probably be the first to know anyways.” He tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear.

“Then why are you lying to me about tonight?” She asked, her entire demeanor shifting. Percy stilled.

“What?”

“I asked Ricky if you’d asked about me tagging along and he gave me a look and said  _ We’re not going out tonight _ . So, wanna tell me what that’s about?”

Percy sat up, causing Annabeth to slide off him.

“Okay, look, I just wanted a night to myself. Lately, we’ve been together nonstop and that’s not terrible, okay? It’s just a lot.” He explained.

“So why didn’t you just tell me you wanted a night to yourself instead of lying and dragging your roommate into it?” She was watching him now, waiting to find a break in his armor.

“I didn’t say it outright because in the past it’s obviously upset you.”

“And you thought I’d feel better when I found out you lied?”

“Not necessarily but I figured I could explain it then!” Percy threw his arms up. Annabeth’s tone was like she was looking for a fight. If this was going to happen now, Percy was ready to go in.

“So what if I want to hang out with my  _ boyfriend _ , Seaweed Brain?!”

“Fine! But every second of the day? Really? Are you that needy?” He regretted it as soon as it left his mouth.

“ _ I’m _ the needy one?! What about you slinking across campus after a nightmare in the middle of the night? Or what about the constant reassurances you needed last summer?”

“I didn’t mean to say that, Annie. I’m just-”

“No! Freudian slips don’t work like that. You  _ do _ feel that way to some extent.”

“Damnit, Annabeth, I’m trying to talk here and explain shit. Why’re you always acting like you’re a hundred percent right about everything?”

“Because I usually am.”

They stood in silence, watching each other, waiting for the other to speak or move.

“Do you really not feel the same way? Like you’re suffocating when I’m around? Or like you still can’t shake what happened, even though it’s been years?”

“Oh, I’m suffocating you? I’ll fix that.” Annabeth grabbed her bag and burst out of Percy’s dorm room as Percy called after her. When it was clear she wasn’t coming back, Percy slammed his door and shook his head.


	2. til it pulled us to that time and place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have many thoughts for this chapter but know that next chapter we start back on the circle of plots so that means we'll be seeing Annabeth and Piper again <3 I hope this chapter sits well with you all!!

The moonlight filtered through the treetops as Thalia walked through the Hunters’ campsite. She and Reyna were taking watch and had split up to do a perimeter check. The air was lukewarm causing Thalia to keep her hair pinned up. After reaching the last tent, she turned around and made her way back to the boulder overlooking their little space. Reyna was already laying on the rock, staring up at the sky.

Reyna seemed to have come into her own as a huntress but there was always something about her that Thalia couldn't put her finger on. Thalia prided herself on being aware of her fellow huntresses’ emotions but she always seemed to fall just short when it came to their newest addition.

"Surprisingly quiet night." She says sitting down on the rock. Reyna moves to sit up but Thalia waves her hand and lays back with her.

"Yeah, I was expecting more action considering the Leukrokotta earlier."

Thalia gives a weary smile. She finds her eyes drawn to the stars that make up Zoë’s constellation.  _ If she were still alive, how would she talk to Reyna? _ She wondered. Then it hit her like a brick: Zoë would be blunt but also confide something in the girl.

"What are you thinking about?" Reyna asked. Thalia turned to look at her.

"I was thinking about Zoë." Thalia answered honestly. Thalia knew the other girl didn't know who that was and was awaiting the question.

"Is she nice?" It finally came. Thalia took a deep breath.

"Well, we didn't really get along when she was alive. We grew on each other though and in the end, her death was one of the hardest."

"How did she…?" Reyna trailed off.

"She fought in the Titan War. She pushed until the end and...she was amazing." Thalia replied. She lifted her hand to trace Zoë's stars with her finger. "See that constellation? That's her. She's always watching over us now."

Reyna stayed quiet next to Thalia as she mulled over Zoë's story. Thalia tried to let her be but patience was never a strength of hers.

"So, how are you doing with the other girls?" She asked. Reyna looked away from the sky and from Thalia, instead gazing into the trees in their surrounding area.

"I'm doing okay. There's not a whole lot of us so it's easy to get to know each other." She sat up and folded her arms around her knees, hugging them close to her. She was guarding something. Thalia frowned but sat up to keep trying.

"Sure, learning names and stuff is easy, but are you connecting with them? Trusting them? That sorta thing." Thalia's voice trips over the words. She's not used to making talk like this and it shows.

"Yeah, sure. I mean, as well as possible."

Silence falls between them again and Thalia curses.

"Hey, uh, have you heard from Jason recently?" Reyna asked, keeping her head down. The questions reminded Thalia of her recent thoughts and she wished she could put them out of mind again.

"Um, not super...recently…" She said. "Last I heard he uh, was going to Camp Half-Blood for a week. But that was, a month ago or so."

Gods, it sounded terrible out loud. Thalia forced herself not to cringe or scowl but the reminder that she once again had been ignoring her brother accidentally was almost too much. It's not that she doesn't  _ want _ to see him, it's just that he brought up too many regrets. Ones that Thalia had spent years trying to get over.

"Oh, that's cool." Reyna's voice was flat and while Thalia wasn't too familiar with people, she recognized it was probably time to stop talking.

"Yeah." She said. "I'm gonna, um, walk the perimeter. Holler if you need me." And with that she stood up from the boulder, shouldered her bow and started walking along their campsite.

_ If I looked harder for Jason, would I be happier? _

***

Lights twinkled on the rooftop of Cabin 1 at Camp Half-Blood. That was the first thing Piper noticed walking up to the building. The next was Jason standing above the lights waving down to her. She gave a small chuckle and made her way around the back of the cabin to a ladder propped against the white walls. She started climbing and when she got to the top, Jason was already there offering a hand out to her. She looked into his blue eyes and felt her stomach curl. She was reminded of a conversation she had with Annabeth the week before.

_ “How do you  _ **_know_ ** _ Percy’s the one?” Piper had asked. Lately, she felt like whatever she had with Jason wasn’t all quite there. _

_ “It’s hard to explain but there’s just a feeling.” Annabeth had laughed then. “Imagine me, saying something’s correct based on a feeling.” _

_ Piper had joined her laughter because it was a little funny. Annabeth is the kind of person who searched for any sort of logic to dictate what was right or not. _

_ “I guess that’s how I know.” Annabeth had said later on. “It’s because I base it on a feeling instead of data and logic. Percy makes me… a better version of me. One that does things like base facts on feelings.” _

Piper had internalized that and thought about what that meant for her and Jason. Piper didn’t think she changed much around him, and she definitely didn’t do things she wouldn’t normally do. Jason was a great person, and an even better friend, but whatever they had going together wasn’t working for Piper. She was reminded of this every time they were alone, like now.

“Evening, Pipes.” Jason helped her step over the lip of the roof and guided her to the blanket laid out. Plates were already set up and a laptop sitting on the black screen sat on the corner of the blanket. Since Jason travelled between camps and Piper had been helping her father pack up for Los Angeles again, they hadn’t seen each other much. The weird thing is that Piper should have missed him or felt even a little sad they weren’t together for some time, but instead, she had gone days without even thinking about him. That almost scared her when she realized it.

“Hi, Jason. What do you have planned for us tonight?” She asked him after they sat down.

“Well, I was thinking we could watch something and just, um, cuddle?” Jason blushed as he offered his idea. Piper thought it was adorable that he still got nervous about just cuddling. For Piper, cuddling was something platonic relationships and romantic relationships had. It was important for humans to have physical affection with people they trust. At least, that’s how Piper justified sitting on the roof in Jason’s arms as Sense8 played in the background. At some point, Piper found herself facing Jason and something changed in their atmosphere. Jason looked down at her and the churning in her stomach returned. His cheeks turned pink and he leaned forward to kiss her. She pulled back. He stopped and looked at her with confusion.

“Uh, Pipes? You okay?” He asked. Piper hesitated.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” She said swallowing the anxieties inside her. “Sorry, I don’t know what happened.”

She leaned in to meet his lips and they kissed. It was very chaste, as it always was. Piper wondered sometimes why Jason was always so respectful. She knew that her other guy friends were trying to take The Next Step with their partners. But in all honesty, Piper was more than okay with not making that step. When she thought about  _ that _ and Jason in the same thought, she tended to find herself scrunching her face.

Jason pulled away from her with a hand on her hip. He looked like he wanted to say something but he couldn’t find the words. Maybe he  _ was _ trying to take that step but wanted to make sure Piper was comfortable. Piper bit the bullet.

“You can kiss me harder.”

A weird expression crossed his face and Piper thought she misread the situation.

“Oh, um, Pipes that’s-”

“You don’t have to!” She tried to amend. “I was just, if you wanted to.”

Jason disentangled himself from Piper and sat up. Piper sat up too, hoping to talk about what was going on between them.

“This isn’t working.” He stated. Piper’s mouth fell open in surprise.

“What’s not working?” She asked. She already knew what Jason’s next words were going to be but she still wanted to hear them.

“Us.” He said quietly. “I just- Lately, we’ve been...very distant from each other.”

Piper closed her mouth and swallowed her anxieties. Jason wasn’t looking at her but at his hands that were folded in his lap.

“Is it me?” He asked. Her heart twisted.

“No, Jason, no. You’re the perfect boyfriend.” She reassured him. He scowled at that.

“Am I? I don’t...We’ve never… _ done that _ before…”

“Doing  _ that _ doesn’t mean anything. There’s a thing about it. I-” Piper took a breath. “You know what? You’re right.  _ We _ aren’t the same. Maybe we’d really just be better off as friends because well, I still love you...like you mean a lot to me.”

“Me too.”

“But I don’t...necessarily want to…” She trailed off trying to figure out the nicest way to say what she was trying to say.

“Kiss me and do  _ that _ ?” He supplied.

“Yeah!” She leaned forward in excitement. He got it. He got  _ her _ .

“Yeah, okay, phew. Because, same.” Now, Jason finally looked up at her and they sat there a moment before laughing.

“That was painful.” Piper said between laughs.

“It really was. It shouldn’t have been.” Jason looked embarrassed. “Anyways, so um, another episode?”

“Yeah, sounds great.” The two went back to watching their series but this time both laying on their stomachs and feeling like some of the weight had dropped off their shoulders. There were still things Piper was thinking about, like how her dad was doing and if Shel had started summer school yet, but for now, under the stars surrounded by twinkling lights, the turmoil in her had calmed down. Hers and Jason’s breakup reminded her of when Leo and Calypso called things off. And who knows, maybe in the end, it would be for the same reasons.  _ Leo could probably help her decide that one. _

***

_ The flight back from Indiana had been only majorly awkward. Calypso shifted behind Leo often and Leo’s silence spoke louder than necessary. Festus creaked a few times causing Leo to tell him “Be quiet!” and then the mechanical dragon would settle down again. _

_ “Hey, Leo? When we land, we should talk.” Calypso said to him over the rushing wind. Leo didn’t respond but he nodded letting her know that he heard her. They had maybe 30 minutes until they would be in view of Camp Half-Blood and landing just outside the property line. They did land and Leo walked Festus back to Bunker 9 with Calypso following behind them. Festus bounded through the giant doors and settled on his concrete slab. Leo poured out motor oil and hot sauce in a trough-like container and set it in front of the dragon. He wandered over to where Calypso was leaning against a worktable. _

_ “So.” He said, initiating their conversation. _

_ “So.” Calypso pulled her dirty blond hair over her shoulder and ran a hand through it, detangling the knots made from wind. _

_ “Okay, let’s just…” Leo looked from Festus to his (kind of?) girlfriend and shook his head. “...say it at the same time.” _

_ “Okay.” Calypso dropped her hands. “1...2…” _

_ “We should stay on bre-” _

_ “I may’ve kissed Li-” _

_ They both jolted and stepped away from each other, regarding the other with wide eyes. _

_ “You don’t wanna try dating again?” Leo asked, looking for confirmation. _

_ “Absolutely not.” Calypso started grinning. “You kissed Lityerses?” _

_ “I-'' Leo's cheeks got warm and he realized that may have not been the best way to approach his thoughts. “That doesn’t matter. Are you...is it something I did?” _

_ “Absolutely not.” Calypso said again, still grinning. “I just think that we may have put too much pressure on ourselves and well, I will be honest, I do not think you really liked me, I think you just felt a sense of duty to me.” _

_ Leo let out an open laugh. _

_ “And apparently if you kissed Lityerses, my suspicion may be correct.” Her brown eyes sparkled with amusement. _

_ “What suspicion?” Leo’s grin wouldn’t go away and he settled back into leaning against the worktable. _

_ “That you’re gay.” Leo watched Calypso’s face as she spoke. He really didn’t want there to be hard feelings between them because when they weren’t focusing on dating each other, they made a really good team and Leo would hate to lose this friendship. But he was in luck. The only expression she wore was amusement and she nudged him with her shoulder. _

_ “Tell me I’m right.” _

_ “Okay, you may be right.” Leo responded. “I don’t really know what label, but yes. I, apparently, like guys.” _

_ The two sat there grinning and letting out short, giddy laughs here and there. _

_ “So, Leo Valdez, does this mean I can be your wingwoman?” Calypso jokes. Leo rolled his eyes. _

_ “I think you’ve spent too much time with me.” He pushed off the worktable and started powering down the lights. “I think though, if you plan to stick around, I’ll let you be my wingwoman.” _

_ Calypso had walked over to the entrance and offered a hand to Leo when he got close. _

_ “Then I will accept the role with grace. Shall we go to dinner?” She asked. _

_ “Yeah, that works.” They started walking through the woods, stepping over gnarled roots when Calypso spoke again. _

_ "So are you into Lityerses or was that a one off thing?" _

_ “Calll.” Leo whined as Calypso giggled. _

+++

Leo drifted awake to the sounds of children laughing and running around outside. Leo sat up and peeked out of his window to see Will, Kayla and Austin around the campfire from last night cleaning it out. His eyes were drawn to Will, who was squatting down and sweeping ash into a bucket. His blue eyes were bright and he grinned at his sister who was trying to wipe off ash from her hands only succeeding in smearing it everywhere.

Will said something to her causing her to stop glaring long enough to laugh. Somehow, without realizing it, Leo had started smiling from his bed.

"Mornin', Leo!" Harley's voice called from outside his pod. Leo jolted and let the curtains to his window fall closed. Leo wondered for a brief moment how Harley knew he was awake, then remembered that he had installed a lighting system to indicate when the person inside the pods was sleeping or not.

"Morning, Harley." Leo replied. He decided it was time to get out of bed and face the day. That started with rousing his siblings awake and then eventually sending them to breakfast. It was always a lowkey affair early in the morning.

The Hephaestus kids weren't as reliant on the sun as the Apollo kids but they still woke up early to check in on their various projects. Therefore, when breakfast rolled around, all Leo had to do was tell them it was time and they all filed out of their cabin and down to the pavilion.

Some days they beat Calypso there, other days Calypso was already sitting there, waiting for Leo to show up. Today, however, Calypso was sitting at the Hades table, talking to Nico, when Leo and his siblings showed up. She noticed him sit down at their table and said goodbye to the son of Hades before heading in his direction. Leo, for his part, was still watching Nico. The brunette looked lonely sitting at the large table by himself, tapping the table, and a part of him wanted to offer a seat at the Hephaestus table.

He knew Chiron had only allowed Nico to sit with Will because of a "doctor's note" Will forged. But now after…what happened, Nico either sat at the Hades table alone, or next to Dionysus for some reason at the Great Table.

Leo thought that Nico di Angelo was a very pretty person. His dark eyes glittered often and he started growing his hair out, which had grown fuller now that he had settled into camp and was getting the nutrients his body needed. Leo would be lying if he said he didn't think about him, he did. And often at that. Calypso had figured it out before he did. She asked him about it after an archery session one day and Leo spluttered, trying to deny any attraction to the then-taken boy. Calypso simply smirked and let it go.

"You're staring again." Leo pulled out of his thoughts and realized he had, in fact, been staring at Nico. Calypso sat down next to him on the wooden bench.

"No, I'm not." Leo said defensively. He looked away from the boy and instead asked his cup for orange juice.

“Why not just ask him out already?” Calypso asked, waving her cup around. Breakfast was brought out and they all got into line to get food. When they sat back down, Leo replied.

“It seems weird right now.” Leo said in between bites of egg. “I mean, he and Will only broke up two weeks ago and I don’t wanna be that guy who swoops in the moment someone is single.”  _ Plus there’s something else but I’m too afraid to say it out loud. _

“Oh, c’mon, Leo. Two weeks is enough time, right?” Calypso said. In moments like this, Leo is reminded how much of a culture shock Calypso went through adjusting to the modern world.

“Uhh, well, actually Cal, it’s not really enough time.”

“We were over it in less than a day. You mean to tell me that two weeks is not enough?”

“We were different from them. They…” Leo paused trying to find the right words. “Well, they seemed to actually like each other. That’s part of why it was so surprising when they broke up.”

“So, they’re not over it?” She gave him a confused look. “So then, Nico wouldn’t want a boyfriend?”

“Well, that’s kinda the thing,” Leo pushed some eggs around with his fork. “I don’t really know and won’t unless I ask him. But I don’t want to bring up any bad feelings so I won’t ask him.”

“What if I did?”

Leo paused and looked over at her. She was looking directly at him with her dark eyes wide and expectant.

“You?”

“Yeah, what if I ask him if he’s looking for another boyfriend or if he wants to stay single. And while I’m at it, if he’s looking, I’ll talk about you.” She laughed. “You know, be your wingwoman, like I said I would.”

Leo thought it over and came to the conclusion that this would probably not end well but he also really wanted to know how Nico was and if anything, he could at least befriend the boy.

“Yeah, okay, sure.” Leo smiled. “What could go wrong?”

_ What could go wrong? Will getting jealous and hating Leo’s guts for one. _

***

Will was staring. Calypso knew this because she was watching him. Her first step in her  **Get Leo and Nico Together** plan was to make sure Will wasn’t still in love with Nico. This means watching him for a short while to make sure he wasn’t secretly pining over his ex. In the three days since hers and Leo’s conversation at breakfast, Calypso was able to learn that Will was in fact not still in love with Nico, or at least he didn’t appear to be. Instead, he spent quite a bit of time watching Lou Ellen, which Calypso thought was different, but who was she to judge. The only thing this meant was that Calypso could help two couples come to be instead of one.

“Hey, Leo.” She said to the boy next to her. She was helping him teach an arts project but mostly she stood around waiting for him to ask for more supplies.

“Yeah, Cal.” Leo replied. “Nice touch there.” He told the younger boy in front of him. The kid looked up with stars in his eyes.

“You think Will has a crush on Lou Ellen?” Calypso asked once she was close enough to whisper. Leo paused his movements and a flash of hurt fell over his face before he schooled it back to normal.

“I don’t know. Why are you asking?” He turned away to prep for the next lesson.

“I’ve been watching him-”

“Creepy.”

“Hush.” She lightly slapped his arm. “I’ve been watching him and lately he’s seemed to be staring at Lou Ellen.”

Leo glanced at the girl in question. She was sitting next to Cecil Markowitz. They seemed to be having a private conversation that Leo didn’t trust one bit. They’d glance up, look around, and then focus back on their conversation.

Lou Ellen was a pretty girl. She had dark, wavy hair that fell to her chin with purple tips and deep green eyes that were startling on first impression. She had a light smatter of freckles across her arms and face and a look in her eyes that said she was always watching her surroundings.

Calypso noticed Leo was still looking at her. She assumed what he was thinking.

“She kinda looks like Nico, huh?” Leo startled and looked away.

“I guess? Why are you bringing this up?”

“ _ Because _ if Will moves on with someone else, there’s even less of a chance he’ll hate you for snatching Nico up.”

Leo blushed at Calypso’s wording.

“I’m not  _ snatching him up _ . And watch your volume.”

“Aw, you’re embarrassed.”

“I’m not. Don’t you have something else to do, other than bother me?” Leo snapped. Calypso stepped back with her hands up.

“Okay, okay. Sorry for pushing.” Leo took a breath.

“Sorry for snapping.”

“You’re right though. I  _ could _ be doing something else.” With a grin at Leo, she left the Arts and Crafts shed looking for Nico. As she walked across the green lawn, she saw Piper McLean leaving the Aphrodite cabin with what looked like an overnight bag.

_ Interesting. I wonder where she’s going. _


	3. when the floodgates opened, we cried an ocean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3,999 words and there's crying in all three scenes <3  
> First note: I'm going to put a warning of internalized aphobia here because it can be hard not to know what's up. It's Jason's scene so if that's an issue, skip from "'Lightning boy, you there?' Percy says" to "He leaves tomorrow morning..."  
> Second note: Teenagers are gonna teenager. Meaning, they're going to do things whether adults want them to or not. Underage sex is mentioned this chapter, also in Jason's scene. I'll summarize his scene in the end notes if you'd prefer to skip it altogether.  
> That's all the notes I have, enjoy

Annabeth’s dorm room is exactly how one would expect: A disaster that seems to have some semblance of a chaotic organization system. There were piles of books and papers everywhere, crumbs of some food on the floor, coffee cups spilling out of the wastebasket and Daedalus’ laptop on her bed. The one place that seemed relatively clean and organized was the student desk at the foot of her bed. The room was messy, it was chaotic, it was Annabeth and Piper adored it.

“Piper!” Annabeth squealed when she opened her door to see the girl on the other side. “What are you doing here?”

“I was around,” Piper grinned and let the blond hug her. “I thought I could stop by.”

“Always. Come on in!” Annabeth moves to make room on her bed for both girls to sit down. “How are you? Why were you out here? How’s Jason?”

Piper laughed at Annabeth’s rapid fire questions.

“I’m doing okay. I was helping dad move back to L.A. and I figured since I was already on this side of the country I could check in with you, Percy and the others over here.” She intentionally avoided commenting on Jason and the look in Annabeth’s eyes told her the daughter of Athena noticed.

“Well, any opportunity to see you is a good one.”

“I know, it feels like forever since we last talked.”

“It’s even worse when I remember it’s only been three weeks.” Annabeth scowls at the wall across from her. There’s something to her that seems to be holding a lot of tension and Piper sets aside her anxieties to ask about her.

“Are you okay? You seem a little tense.” Piper sets a hand on one of hers. Annabeth looks at her and sighs.

“I think I’m okay?” She says. Piper’s hackles rise as Annabeth’s eyes start to shine.

“What happened?” Piper asks. That releases the floodgates and Annabeth lets out a self deprecating laugh.

“Percy and I got into a fight.” She inhales. “Gods, that sounds so dumb to say aloud but it happened and I haven’t spoken to him in weeks and I don’t know what to do.”

Piper’s eyes widened at the admission. Percy and Annabeth were always the constant among their friends. Everyone knew that as long as they were together then nothing was going to go wrong. Hearing about them fighting settled like a lead ball in Piper’s stomach.

“He said that I was suffocating him and he lied about hanging out with his roommate just to spend time alone.” Annabeth cries. Piper looks around and gets up to grab the tissues in the corner of her friend’s desk. She sets them on the bed between them.

“Thanks.” Annabeth grabs one and blows her nose. “Am I needy?”

“I don’t think so, but I’m also not in a relationship with you.” Piper says gently.

“Was there anything else he said? Maybe about what he’s feeling?”

“Not that I remember. I was pretty riled up so I don’t remember much but I  _ do _ remember he was upset.” Annabeth says. “What if this is the end for us?”

Piper bites her lip and pushes the lead ball that jumped into her throat back to her stomach.

“Then it simply is.” Annabeth lets out a sob.

“And if it is,” Piper starts, “Then we let it hurt, pick ourselves up and keep going.”

Annabeth looks at her with shock and confusion.

“If he can’t see how absolutely perfect you are, then he’s not the one. Even if he makes you do crazy things.”

“I don’t want this to be the end.” Annabeth whispers. “What would you do if it were you and Jason?”

Piper cringes at that. She knows she should tell her friend but with the conversation topic it seemed like maybe now wasn’t the right time.

“Um, well,” She fumbles for the right words, “I’d talk to him. And try to keep a steady head? And be honest. Honesty is important.” After all, honesty is what allowed her and Jason to stay friends.

Annabeth listens to Piper and tries to absorb her words. She looks at the brunette and smiles.

“I’ll think about it.” She says and Piper smiles because if there’s one thing Annabeth is good at, it’s thinking about things. “Enough about my drama...what’s going on with Jason?”

Piper freezes. She half-hoped that in crying over Percy, Annabeth would forget how she reacted earlier to her questions.

“Pipes, you can talk to me, you know.” Annabeth says. “But I understand if you're not ready.”

Piper bites her lip. What did Leo say about it again?

_ “Just say it.” Leo grinned. _

_ “Just say it.” Piper said, tone flat. Leo nodded. _

_ “You’ll feel sick to your stomach, you’ll wanna run, maybe you’ll sweat, but in the end, just say it.” Leo’s smile faded. “Annabeth is your friend. She’ll support you no matter what. Plus, not to name names or anything, but look at how she treats Nico.” _

_ Piper took a deep breath. Right. Annabeth is probably the best person to talk to outside of Leo. _

_ “I already feel sick.” Piper stated. Leo laughed. _

_ “You will for a little bit.” _

“Piper?” Annabeth asks. Piper takes a deep breath.

“Okay, um, first off, Jason and I broke up.”

“Oh, Piper! I’m so sorry.” Annabeth’s eyes widen. “Oh, I’m terrible! Crying over problems when the worst actually happened with you!”

“Okay, whoa, Annie, wait.” Piper says. Annabeth closes her mouth.

“It was a mutual decision. Something with us...changed.” Piper explains. “We weren’t, um, the same as when we started dating?”

This would be infinitely easier if Annabeth wasn’t watching her like a, well like an owl, trying to come to her own conclusion first.

_ “Just say it.” _

“Mostly because, well, I think I’m gay.” A rush of air leaves Piper’s chest and she holds it, waiting to see how Annabeth takes it. Sure, the blond was nice to Nico and Leo but well, they were on the outer circles of her friends...and they were guys...and Piper wasn’t really sure how Annabeth would react about one of her close friends and- 

Annabeth takes one of Piper’s hands and meets her eyes.

“Thank you for telling me.” She says. Her voice is gentle and envelops Piper like a soft, cotton sweater. “I mean it. I know that probably took a lot of bravery and I’m glad you trust me.”

Piper doesn’t know when she starts crying, but she’s aware of Annabeth handing her a tissue. She accepts it and wipes her eyes. Annabeth lays her head on Piper’s shoulder.

“Why is living normally harder than life threatening quests?” She asks. Piper laughs. It’s a fair question though. Piper doesn’t remember the Argo II quest being harder than coming out and navigating relationships.

“Maybe because now we have to actually figure out who we are outside of trauma.” Piper suggests. Annabeth inhales sharply and sits up.

“Wait.” She says, eyes wide. “Oh, I’m such a bonehead!”

Piper watches in confusion as Annabeth gets up and picks up a book. She returns to her bed and flips open a page, scans it then closes the book.

“Piper you’re a genius!” She cries. Piper smiles and tries to understand.

“What are you talking about?”

“That’s why Percy wants space.” Annabeth says it like it’s obvious. “All our time together is painted with war and trauma and, quite literally, hell.”

She stops talking and swallows.

“He’s trying to figure out what he’s supposed to do just the same as I am. But for him, he learns by internalizing. Something I  _ know _ and didn’t take into account. I need physical support though, even if it’s just being in the same room.”

“So there was a miscommunication. And your guys’ love languages aren’t matching right now.” Piper summarizes. Annabeth looks at her in awe. Her brain was obviously still going through the multiple trains of thought but Annabeth gave her a smile.

“Exactly.”

They sit in silence for a brief moment as Annabeth sorts through her thoughts.

“Hey, do you wanna go get food?” Piper offers. Annabeth gets up and grabs her shoes and a jacket.

“That sounds great.”

As the two leave Annabeth's dorm, Piper finds herself thinking about Jason.

_ I genuinely hope he's doing alright. _

***

The night air is cool but inside Cabin 1, warmth fills every corner as Jason, Leo, and Nico sit around holding cards. Percy and Frank’s faces are on a laptop set up to face the three lounging in various positions.

“Jason, fours?” Percy’s voice crackles over the connection. Jason grins at the camera and shakes his head.

“Liar.” Nico says staring at the floor. Jason sighs and flashes a four at the laptop.

“Thank you, Nico. Make a pair for me.” Percy says. Leo sets the pair of fours on the floor next to Percy’s pile. It was difficult at first to make their ‘guy nights’ work with Percy and Frank permanently in New Rome, then with Jason travelling outside Camp Half-Blood so much. Eventually, Chiron caved and granted Leo a laptop. After that, it didn’t take long for Leo to figure out just what the connection piece was that brought monsters.

“Nico, ones.” Percy says. Nico scowls at him and throws a one of diamonds at the brunette. The other laugh as it lands in Percy’s hair. Nico even smiles softly. It took a little bit of encouragement to bring Nico fully into their group but after he showed up one night, he fit in perfectly much to his surprise.

“How’s Annabeth, Perce?” Jason asks, taking one of Leo’s twos. Percy scowls at the floor in front him and Frank.

“Honestly? We’re having a rough go right now.” He says. “But I think we’ll work it out.”

“Damn, dude. I’m sorry.” Jason says. Percy waves it off.

“What about you and Piper?” Percy grins. “How’d the rooftop date go? Did you, eh, try what we talked about?”

Jason blushes and avoids the question.

“Frank, threes?” He asks. Percy laughs at the unanswered question.

“Oh, yeah! You guys haven’t heard. Our boy’s flyin’ solo now.” Leo says, causing Jason’s blush to deepen.

“Oh?” Percy gave Jason a questioning look. “What happened?”

Jason threw his cards down and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well, we uh, we started the way you and I talked about and then something went weird and well, we uh, decided to end things. I’m not...upset about it though.” Jason explains.

Percy smiles at him and Jason’s a little afraid of what’s going to come out of his mouth next.

“Well, I’m sure there’s other girls around camp that’ll be  _ interested _ .”

Jason turns bright red, Leo howls with laughter, Frank chuckles and when Jason peeks at Nico, he can see the pale kid shaking his head and his shoulders shake with silent laughter.

“Shut up, water boy.” Jason mumbles.

“Speaking of  _ interesting things, _ how’s it going with Hazel?” Leo asks the laptop, absolutely unaware of the daggers being shot out of the brown eyes from the boy next to him.

“Oh, um,” Frank sobers up and glances at Nico. The child of Hades sends him a promising glare, causing his eyes to widen.

“Later.” This doesn’t seem to help his case because Nico’s glare gets worse. Frank swallows hard.

“I mean, um, uh,” He brings a hand to the back of his neck, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Valdez.”

Nico looks back to Leo, waiting to see what he would respond with. This time, Leo seems to feel Nico’s gaze and realizes it’s best to not respond. After a beat of silence, Nico speaks.

“Thought so.” He gives a smug smile to the two.

“Aww, c’mon, Neeks. It’s only natural.” Percy says. Nico’s glare softens as he meets Percy’s eyes through the screen.

“Double standard that Hazel can’t mess around but you did.” Nico opens his mouth to speak but after finding nothing to respond with, he snaps it shut. “She’s my little sister.”

“She’s like everyone’s little sister, dude.” Percy says. “It  _ is _ kinda weird to hear about it. But, you know, it’s the getting older thing.”

Jason frowns at the floor,  _ If it’s a getting older thing, why does he seem to be missing out on it? He’s Percy’s age. He was in a steady relationship. A few, in fact. _

“I’m not discussing this.” Nico says. “There is no universe that I’ll sit by and let her boyfriend talk about her like that.”

“You good, bud?” Leo nudges Jason’s shoulder and redirects the conversation.

“Oh, um, yeah. I’m fine.” He lies. Everyone seems to buy it except Percy who only watches him with interest.

“Okay, well, it’s about curfew. We should get going.” Leo says standing up. He picks up stray cards and piles them in front of Jason. Nico is already out the door and Leo leaves with a little wave.

“Now that it’s just us three. I’ve got a question.” Frank says. He’s fiddling with something outside the frame but Jason assumes it’s his fingers.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Jason asks. Frank takes a deep breath.

“I haven’t actually been able to talk to Hazel about me.” He stutters through the sentence. “I’ve been talking to Leo about it and Leo says to just do it, just come out and say it, but everytime I try, I clam up.”

Percy and Jason glance at each other, a little confused, before it clicks into place.

“Oooh,” Percy starts, “That you’re trans?”

Frank nods.

“What have you done so far?” Jason asks, then realizes it comes out differently than he intended. “I mean, like, how has she not figured it out?”

“Uh, well, usually I um, eh, wellitaketheleadandshecanttouchkindadeal.” Frank says all rushed together. Percy stifles a laugh.

“Oh.” Jason says. He’s found himself really out of his depth here and he thinks Percy should take the lead.

“Okay, firstly, yes. Just coming out with it is the course, but sometimes it’s really not that easy to. I mean, when I told Annabeth I was bi, I talked about it in circles even though I knew she would be fine with it.” Percy starts talking. “Knowing you, I think it’d be best to find somewhere secluded and well, if you guys are already doing stuff, talking about sex shouldn’t be taboo.”

Frank frowns at the keyboard but nods along.

“I’m sorry I’m not better at this one, but you got this. And Hazel’s not going to treat you any different, I know that much.” Percy says.

“Yeah, she’s really cool and she’ll be ready to do some workarounds?” Jason loses steam towards the end.

“Thanks. I’m gonna...head out.” Frank says, still lost in thought.

“Okay, big guy. Good luck and all.” Percy says. He leaves camera view to walk Frank out of the dorm. Jason sits on camera staring at nothing, his own head running in circles.

“Lightning boy, you there?” Percy says and Jason jolts back to reality. “Oh good, you were starting to scare me.”

“Oh, sorry, I was just lost in thought.” Jason says.

“Yeah, I know.”

Silence filters between them, not uncomfortable but Jason wishes Percy would just say what he was thinking.

“You’re really not into the whole sex thing, are you?” Percy finally asks. Jason refuses to meet his eyes and tries to come up with a way to not answer but still maintain his masculinity.

“You know there's nothing wrong with that.” Percy says. Jason is still searching for words.

“Doesn’t make you any less-”

“I’m gonna disconnect. I’ll see you around.” Jason ends the call before he gets a response and he stares at the now darkening screen. The issue is that Percy wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t just with Piper but he couldn’t see himself having sex with  _ anybody _ . He could feel the hot tears starting to sting his eyes and he hated it. He hates the tears, he hates himself and he hates that he doesn’t feel the same way his friends did. He leaves tomorrow morning for item collection. Maybe this time around he could just...stay away longer. He could try to clear his head and fix himself. He lays down in his bed facing Thalia’s old bunk. He wonders for a moment what she would say to him if she knew he was like this.

***

The fire inside Thalia’s tent was warm and Thalia was huddled around it. The Hunt had stopped in the Rockies that night so it was cooler than it had been lately for them. Thankfully, the silver jackets they wore were temperature friendly and adjusted as they needed.

Thalia clenches her teeth and moves closer to the fire. A rubbing sound on the vinyl of her tent comes to her attention.

“Hello?” She calls out, reaching for her bow. Last she checked, everyone else had fallen asleep.

“Hi, Thalia. It’s Reyna. May I enter?” Reyna calls from the outside. Thalia relaxes and sets her bow back down.

“Oh, yeah. Come on in.”

Reyna unzips the tent and opens it, letting cold air blow in. She steps through and then kneels by the fire opposite of Thalia. Her hair is chin length now, grown out a bit from when she chopped it off from first joining, but still doesn’t cover her ears much.

“Are you doing okay?” Thalia asks, concerned. Maybe Reyna was feeling ill…

“Um, actually, I have something that I want to talk about, but um, I don’t want the Lady to know.” Reyna looks at her hands in her lap. Thalia’s eyebrows rise to her hairline. On principle, at least in Thalia’s experience, anything that started with  _ I don’t want the Lady to know _ ends poorly.

“It’s not what it sounds like!” Reyna says quickly after hearing no response. “I’ve stuck to the rules, I mean, you would know if I didn’t and um, I don’t even, guys are, no. No guys.”

“Oh, no! Please don’t think I assumed anything. You’re fine, Reyna. I promise.” Thalia tries to placate her.

“Okay, um, cool.” Reyna’s cheeks heated up and she shook her head before focusing back to the task at hand. “So, what I really wanted to talk about…”

Thalia waits as patiently as she can manage as Reyna searches for the words. Time passes and Thalia begins looking around her tent, wondering if she should Iris call Jason after this. But that brings up thoughts of Jason and she cringes at the guilty thoughts creeping into her mind.

“I made a mistake.” Reyna says, startling Thalia back to attention.

“What do you mean?” Thalia asks, trying to understand what Reyna was talking about. “Your performance lately has been exceptional as always. I’ve really seen you grow and connect with the other girls. I know that was a problem when we talked a couple weeks ago.”

“Yeah, um, no, I mean,” Reyna takes a deep breath, “I’m talking about joining the Hunt.”

Thalia’s mouth fell open and for the first time in a while, she was at a loss for what to respond with.  _ That would explain why she doesn’t want the Lady to know. _

“I know I told Apollo that I was secure in my decision but, between us? I’m so tired, Thals. I knew joining wouldn’t be sunshine and roses and easy, but I had hoped it would give me purpose and I’m not getting that. In fact, my nightmares haven’t gone away, I’m exhausted  _ all the time _ and I just want to find someplace I can just live. Without having to fight.”

As she speaks, Thalia realizes that what she was saying was what Thalia herself had been feeling lately.

“And I don’t want to let you down, even more so the Lady, but I needed to say something otherwise this situation would just turn into like my home was.” Reyna looks at Thalia and the brunette can see tears sliding down her cheeks. That jolts her into action.

“Oh, please,” Thalia says, sliding to sit next to her. “Your emotions are valid and important, even if they hurt somebody else, letting them out allows people to understand where you’re at mentally and it allows people to  _ help _ you. It’s not a crime to ask for help, Reyna.”

She puts an arm around the girl she’s grown to love and she squeezes her.

“I’m serious, Reyna. If you’re not doing well here, then it's time to move on. And the Lady won’t be upset over that, I promise. She cares for your wellbeing.”

Reyna shakes against Thalia’s side and takes deep breaths to try and calm down. Thalia continues to hold her and reassure her. It’s quite a few minutes later when Reyna finds herself under control again.

“How do you think I should tell the Lady?” She asks. Thalia takes a moment to think.

“I think you should just be honest and transparent. She’s more likely to not ask questions that way and she’ll probably bless you if you’re transparent.”

“Okay.” Reyna sniffles. “Did you ever regret joining?”

And that was the million dollar question, wasn’t it? Thalia inhales sharply and weighs whether she wants to open the floodgates of her own inner turmoil. She decides that since Reyna is being vulnerable, she could too.

“Not at first, no.” Thalia’s voice is quiet and she stares off at something. “When I first joined up, I thought that this was all I had going for me. I didn’t want some ancient prophecy on my shoulders, my mother was dead, and I had assumed my brother was too. So I figured, this was the best path for me.”

Reyna stays quiet as Thalia talks but Thalia senses Reyna has questions. On one hand, Thalia is afraid to admit this to her of all people, but on the other hand, she feels that Reyna would be one of the only ones who would understand.

“When I ran into Jason about two years ago, my entire world was flipped upside down.” Thalia feels the tears stinging her eyes. “Every feeling I’d had about losing him came crashing in and I felt,” A deep inhale, “I felt terribly guilty. If I had just looked a little harder, questioned a little more, I probably would have found him. But I didn’t and because of that, I don’t even know my own baby brother.”

Silence rings through the tent and Thalia wishes she could just fall asleep for months.

“He adored you.” Reyna says finally. Thalia’s breath hitches. “He looked up to you. He didn’t remember you exactly, because Greek and Roman issues, but he remembered a warm feeling about his life before Lupa. He often told me he thought he was crazy, but the warmth made him feel safe. And in battle, when he was unsure, he reached out for memories of that warmth.”

Thalia’s cries rang through the tent.

“I can also tell you that getting you back, that was the happiest I’d ever seen him.” Reyna hugs her. “I do think though, he would love to have this conversation with you and I think it would help both of you heal.”

“Jeez, look at us.” Thalia jokes through her tears. “What a pair of disasters we are.”

“If I have to be a disaster, I’m glad it’s with you.”

“You’re a really good person, Reyna. Personal history or not. I’m really glad our paths aligned for a while.”

“It’s not like I’m dying, I just won’t be around that much.”

“Speaking of, we should talk to the Lady.”

“Okay.” Reyna and Thalia both stand, pull their jackets closer to themselves and set off to Artemis’ tent together.

“Where are you going to go after this?” Thalia asks on the way.

“I’m going to head home. See if Camp Jupiter has something for me. I’ll start there at least.”

Reyna glances up at Zoë Nightshade and smiles. She hopes silently that Praetor Frank has something for her to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jason's scene summary:  
> Jason, Leo, and Nico are playing go fish over a video call with Frank and Percy. Jason lies about if he has cards or not, Nico calls him on it. Jason asks Percy how he and Annabeth are, Percy mentions they're going through a rough patch but they'll work it out as always. Percy asks Jason how his rooftop date with Piper went, specifically mentioning something he and Jason talked about. Jason gets awkward and explains they broke up in mutual agreement. Percy says something suggesting Jason's a catch and other girls would want to sleep with him and the cabin explodes with noise. Leo asks Frank about his relationship with Hazel in that context, Nico gets protective and shuts down the conversation about his sister. Curfew approaches, Leo and Nico leave the cabin and Frank, Percy and Jason stay on the call. Frank asks Percy for advice about coming out to Hazel as trans, especially for sex reasons. Percy encourages him and Frank leaves Percy's dorm, thoughtful. Percy and Jason talk about Jason's own feeling regarding sex and Jason shuts down on Percy before ending the call. He goes to sleep upset with himself.


	4. i know you know me, you don't have to show me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update!! Wow, okay, so this is really getting into some more of the meat of the plots, some resolutions are in sight...some are not. I can't give an estimate for when the next chapter will be up. If you're not following my tumblr, I've started the new semester so I'm going to be overloaded with schoolwork(I'm Percy from chapter 1 now lol) so there will be a longer wait period until I can get the chapter out.
> 
> In the meantime, there's no warnings for this chapter, I don't think, it is a little sad towards the end, but trauma lingers y'all.
> 
> Lastly, if I could get you're thoughts an opinions on this little survey, I'd much appreciate it. It'll help me determine what y'all wanna read next. <3 (https://forms.gle/TZ4W4dQY6cNfi6HB7)

Frank taps on the wall in Hazel’s room. She jumps and turns around to find the source standing in front of her, hands in front of him and toying with his fingers. He’s nervous again. He’s been really nervous around her lately. Frank sees her bite back the frown and smiles at him instead.

“ _ Mon bijou _ ,” Hazel sighs, “Are you okay?”

This startles Frank into fixing his hands and his posture. He forces his shoulders to relax and he gives her a big smile.

“Yeah, I’m good. Sorry, I’m not sure what happened.” He shakes it off. He needs to do this. It’s time and he has a vague sense of how to start it.

“Well, come here then.” She opens her arms for a hug and Frank steps into them. She wraps her arms around him and for a moment, he doesn’t feel anything except her warmth. The hug lasts longer than expected but not unwanted. He shifts, causing her to lower her arms. He takes her hand and sits down on her bunk with her.

“You know, Praetor, if I didn’t know you any better, I’d say you were trying something  _ unsavory _ .” Hazel says, eyes lighting up. Whatever upset she’d had earlier melted away, allowing her to flirt. The line startles a chuckle out of him.

“I’m just trying to have some quality time with my girlfriend, shush.” He says, kissing her cheek. She seems to have a better plan, one that involves turning her head and meeting his lips with her own. It’s short and she pulls away, starting to chew on her lip.

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been kind of… different lately and I just wanna make sure.” She takes his hands in her own and meets his eyes.

Frank takes a deep breath.  _ Hazel, I’m trans. C’mon, you can say it. _

“I promise I’m okay. I’ve been trying to-” Frank starts but he’s interrupted by a knocking sound outside Hazel’s room.

“One sec, Nico!” Hazel calls before turning her attention back to Frank.  _ Nico? _

“Nico?” Frank asks. Hazel ducks her head and has a sheepish smile on her face. “Haze?”

“Well, um, off the books, dad’s gotten Nico and I a private tutor because of the whole...being out of touch for about 80 years thing. I need Nico for it though because, well, our tutor is kind of...dead.” Hazel mumbles behind her corkscrew curls. “Nico’s here to get me.”

“Oh.” Frank says. It always makes his head hurt trying to think about Hazel’s past and what that meant for them...and him.

“Anyways, what did you want to say?” Hazel asked, bringing her eyes back to Frank. And there goes the ember he stoked earlier.  _ Shit. _

“I was just gonna say, I’ve been trying to corner you for a date. This Friday?” He lies, partially. He  _ did _ want to go out Friday but that wasn’t what he wanted to ask.

“Oh,” Hazel’s mood fell, “I don’t know. I’m supposed to meet with Hank about the Little Tiber filters.”

“That’s-” Hazel’s door creeps open.

“Zhang, I swear to the gods, I don’t care if it’ll start a war, you better be…” Nico’s voice trails off as he moves his hand from over his eyes. Hazel’s eyes widen and Frank’s cheeks heat up.

“Nico!” Hazel shrieks. Her brother just gives her a flat stare.

“It’s way past time and I’m pretty sure Signor Elias said in our first meeting that he doesn’t approve of tardiness.” Nico scolds her.

“He’s dead, he can wait another ten minutes.” Hazel shoots back. Frank watches the argument like a tennis match, gaze bouncing between the two siblings.

“That’s rude, even in death.”

“I don’t particularly care right now. Why did you just break into my room?”

“Because, well,  _ you know why _ .” He hisses.

“I’m gonna bury you alive.”

“No you won’t, because you love me.”

“It wouldn’t even hurt you, you’d just pop out of the ground like a weasel.”

“A very cute weasel.”

Hazel sighs in defeat and shoots Frank a look that says  _ “See what I have to deal with?!” _ that caused Frank to fight really hard against laughing.

“I’ll see you later. Let me see if I can reschedule with Hank.” She says softly. As she stands, she kisses him goodbye.

“Love you.” She says walking out behind Nico..

“Love you, too.” Frank responds. Another chance out the window. What was he going to do? And why is Nico so uptight about him and Hazel messing around? He and Will did,  _ a lot, _ if Frank remembers right.

***

The infirmary was surprisingly quiet for the first time in a few days. Most of the current patients were sleeping off various medications, leaving Will a chance to start on the project he’d been wanting to do. The infirmary had records of every camper dating back to the mid-1800s and it was getting rather cluttered so Will had asked Frog from Athena’s cabin if they had any ideas for a solution. Luckily for Will, they did. They provided Will with trash bags, quite a few boxes and a binder full of graphing paper. The idea was the binder would be separated by year, then sorted in alphabetical order from last name. The boxes were to hold the really important documents, such as any vaccination records, any notes of outbreaks in camp, what was used for treatment, etc. and then once everything was compiled, the boxes would go to the attic in the Big House.

Will had started the project after he and Nico broke up two months ago and he had made his way to the 1930s. Currently, he has three folders open on the desk and is noting the names of the old campers that came before him. He finishes writing Levey and then starts sorting through Levey’s file. This is how Calypso finds him.

“Hi there.” She says, her head tilted and a smile on her face. Will’s head shoots up and he immediately does a once over, searching for any injury. He finds none so he goes back to sifting through fragile papers.

“Did you need something?” He asks. He had never really talked to her before but he thought she was nice. She and Leo were still really close, and Will would know. He watched Leo a lot…

"Oh, no, I don't need medical attention or anything." She says. "I haven't really gotten to know you, and well, I'd like to?"

Will looks back up at her, trying to figure out her angle. Was she trying to befriend him or boyfriend him? He decides it's nicer to shut it down instead of accidentally leading her on.

"Sure, we can try to be  _ friends _ ." He emphasizes. Calypso lets out a twinkling laugh.

"No, really, I just wanted to be friends." She says.

"That was pretty asshole-ish of me, huh?" Will winces, replaying the conversation so far in his mind. Gods, where was his bedside manner? "I'm sorry, can we start over?"

Calypso laughs again but nods.

"Hi, I'm Will. Welcome to the infirmary. You can sit anywhere that's not patient beds or on any documents." He says. Calypso bows her head with a smile.

"Hello, Will. Nice to really meet you, I'm Calypso." She looks around and decides to sit on the counter where medics usually pull meds from. She hops up and situates herself before laying her hands in her lap and facing Will.

"So why did you decide to come talk today?" Will asks. Lately she hung around Leo more and Will thought they may be heading towards getting back together.

"Leo's busy," She waves her hand and Will's chest grows slightly heavier, "So I figured what a better day than today!"

"And you and Leo…" Will tries to find the words to ask but before he can get the rest of the question out, Calypso is laughing, openly and fully.

"Gods, no!" She cries. "I love Leo, he's important to me, but no, not like that. We're one hundred percent over, never trying again."

_ Oh. _

"Oh, um, cool." He says. It's quiet as Will continues working. For a moment, he forgets Calypso is there, then she moves.

"Yeah, he uh, he's actually moving on." Her voice is casual, almost forced but Will waves it off as first conversation nervousness.

"Yeah? Good for him, who's he crushing on?" Will asks. A tiny spark of hope had flared up in his chest when she said those words.

"It may be tactless of me to outright say it to you, but I feel like you deserve to know." Calypso's voice had moved from casual to cautious. Will feels his stomach drop before she speaks again. "He's taken a fancy to Nico."

Will didn't think his world could shift any further but the gods just loved proving him wrong. He swallows down disappointment and frustration and says nothing in response.

"I shouldn't have said anything, I'm sorry Will. I just thought it would be better for you to know before it happens." Calypso slides off the counter and approaches him. She lays a hand on his arm.

"No, don't be sorry. I'm okay," Will lies, "and good for them. They'll be good."

"Really?" Calypso asks. Will nods and forces a smile to his face.

"Really." He affirms. Calypso lights up and squeezes his arm.

"Oh, good." She says. "I figured you'd have been more upset, I mean, you and Nico were the next Percy and Annabeth from what I've heard. Everyone was shocked when you broke up."

_ So was I _ .

"Yeah," Will chuckles, "If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, though. You know that."

"Do I ever." She agrees. "But now I'm curious, do  _ you _ have any new item of interest? I've heard a few people have you as theirs."

"Ah, not really." Will says. "Well, I mean, maybe."

As long as he doesn't say who, it should be fine, right?

"Oh! I  _ knew _ it!" Calypso chirps. Will's heart skips a beat.

"You do?" He asks.

"Yeah! I saw you watching her and it's just so cute. You know, she is really pretty."

"Oh, yeah, and just so we're on the same page, who is it?"

"Lou Ellen, of course! Don't play dumb with me."

_ Lou Ellen?! _ Will's mouth parts in surprise and he quickly turns away to recompose himself.

“Aw, you don’t have to be shy!” Calypso says. “Besides, from what I’ve heard, I think you’d have a good shot at it. You should ask her out.”

“Um, yeah, maybe.” Will says. He’s still trying to process Calypso thinking he likes Lou Ellen.

“Well, okay, it seems like you have a lot of work to do.” The girl says stepping away. “I’ll leave you to it now, but hey, I  _ do _ think you should, what did Leo call it? Shoot your shot? With Lou Ellen.”

And with that, she leaves Will in the Infirmary, still processing their conversation and flipping through old, dusty files. He looks around at the cabinets and sighs.

“Why can’t we just go digital yet? Annabeth probably has a way.” He grumbles to himself reaching for the next stack.

***

Annabeth knocks on Percy’s dorm door and waits. She chews on her lip and thinks over her plan.  _ Apologize, explain the love languages thing, offer a solution. _ That’s what she came up with when thinking about how to approach this topic.

The door opens revealing a short, redhead boy who was only in sweats and socks.

"Hey, Ricky, um, is Percy here?" Annabeth asks. The boy steps away from the doorway and lets her inside.

"Perce, it's for you." The redhead says before putting earbuds in. Percy sits cross-legged on his bed surrounded by various open textbooks and a notebook. He looks up when Annabeth slides his desk chair over.

"Can he...still hear us?" Annabeth asks, sitting down and setting her bag in her lap.

"Nah, his music is loud and he's pretty deaf as it is." Percy replies. He straightens his back and stretches then looks at Annabeth.

"I'm-"

"Hey, about-"

They speak at the same time and stop, expecting the other to finish their sentence.

"You go." Percy says. Annabeth takes a breath.

"I'm sorry for flying off the handle." She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "I was so worried about my own feelings I didn't stop to think about how you were handling the transition."

Percy nods as she speaks.

"I should have been more cautious of your trauma.” She says, then furrows her eyebrows. That didn’t come out like she had wanted.

“ _ My _ trauma? Not, you know,  _ ours _ ?” Percy asks. Annabeth cringes.

“That’s not what I meant.” She starts playing with her fingers.

“I thought Freudian slips don’t work like that.” He mimics her words from their last fight.

“Perseus, that’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Percy’s eyes grow dark at the use of his whole name. He scowls at the floor.

“Get out, Annie.” He states. Annabeth’s jaw drops.

“Wait, what?” She cries. She leans forward to put a hand on his arm and he withdraws it.

“If you don’t leave, we’re going to get into another fight and say things we don’t mean. I’m too angry right now to talk.” He grits out. Annabeth withdraws and bites her lip.

“When should I come back?” She asks, tone flat.

“I’ll come find you.” Percy says. Annabeth stands up and puts the chair back at the desk then heads towards the door.

“I’m not the only one fucked up, Annie.” Percy says as Annabeth lets the door close behind her. She stands in the hallway, staring at nothingness and tries to process where that went so wrong. She thought she had figured it out after talking to Piper but apparently things were just as bad, if not worse. Maybe it was time to go to an even older friendship, maybe it was time to reach out to Thalia.

***

The Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest was huge. Thalia somewhat regretted going through Idaho but there was more coverage, even if she didn’t like going up and down the mountains. Artemis had come back and was currently with the rest of the hunters while Thalia went on this trip. She needed to. There were too many memories and too many thoughts that had been swirling around her head not to.

The night is coming and she knows she needs to find shelter. She left her tent back with the hunters just to lighten her load. There are trees all around her(another benefit of going through the forests) so she didn’t need the tent anyways. The leaves of the trees rustle as she runs by. She alternates between running and wandering, she had been since Fishlake back in Utah.

_ Of course he has to be in fucking north Montana. _ She thought when she finally got a letter from Jason.

**Hey Thals!**

**I know it’s been literal months since we last talked and everything, but it’s hard keeping in touch, especially with Hermes putting our requests behind everyone else’s because we “don’t pay as well”. Anyways, I’m headed to Montana, Kootenai to be specific. I’m working with Chloris to set up a site here. She wanted to be as North as possible but well, I’m not about to risk treading into Canada** **_again_ ** **.**

**Anyways, I’ll be around there somewhere if you wanna catch up.**

**See ya,**

**Jason**

Thalia shakes her head and scales the closest tree to settle into the safety of crooked branches and yellowing leaves around her. She pulls out the letter again and rereads it. It was vague, of course, she figures that at least he was being cautious. She still wishes she has more to go on than Kootenai Forest and “furthest north”. She shakes her head and peers out into the sky to look at what lays above her...to look at Zoë.

“What do I say when I get there?” She asks. She knows her old friend won’t answer, but she still half-hopes the answer would come to her like a lightning bolt.

“I think I really fucked up, Zoë. I mean, I  _ should _ have looked harder. Not that it would have helped, sure, but I don’t know. I think I gave up on him for…” She takes a deep breath and says the thoughts that had been plaguing her since she found Jason alive. “I think I gave up on him for Luke.”

Above her Zoë’s stars twinkle and Thalia almost wishes she could have a spar with her again.

“I know, I need to let him go and stop thinking about him, but he was my  _ family. _ But that makes it all the worse, doesn’t it?” Something warm trailed down her cheek. “I left my actual brother for a traitor. I mean, fuck, Zo, Luke and I, we were a hell of a team. Could that have been Jason? D’ya think if I followed him to the wolf house Lupa would have had to take me too?”

Even though she waits for an answer, nothing responds to her words.

“Do you think he hates me? Even a little bit? I mean, I always harbored some ill will towards Bianca when she made the decision  _ so _ easily and  _ so _ readily. I know Nico will never say it, but she  _ left _ him behind like he meant nothing. Am I any different than that? I did it first, you know?”

The night animals start to emerge from their day beds and the underbrush rustle as they move through. An elk meanders through below her, a bat flies through the air in her area, and the predators stalk the prey. The circle of life moves on.

“I don’t know, Zo, maybe he’ll hate me for bringing it up, maybe he won’t. Maybe it’s never crossed his mind before. I guess I’ll find out in a couple days, huh?” With the last few words, Thalia pulls her parka closer to herself and settles further into the crook of the tree. It reminds her of being on the run, holding Luke’s hand and dragging Annabeth behind them. She sends out a small prayer of hope that Reyna got to her camp safely and lets the darkness overtake her.

**Author's Note:**

> Wanna drop by and say something unrelated to this fic? Maybe you've got a theory? I'm on tumblr at kawaii-kozume and Twitter at kawaii_kozume <3


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